The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium peltatum, and herinafter referred to by the cultivar name Guinost.
The new Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in St. Malo, France. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new early-flowering cultivars with interesting and unique flower colors.
The new Geranium orignated from a cross made by the Inventors of the proprietary Pelargonium peltatum selection code number 85 as the male, or pollen parent, with the Pelargonium peltatum cultivar Pico, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent in 1989. The cultivar Guinost was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in St. Malo, France, in 1989.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at St. Malo, France, has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Guinostxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Guinostxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact and upright plant habit.
2. Slightly zoned and small leaves.
3. Numerous long-lasting dark hot pink-colored semi-double to double flowers.
4. Basal branching; high yield of cuttings.
5. Early flowering; flowering continuous throughout the summer.
6. Foliage tolerant to rain, wind and stress conditions.
The new Geranium can be compared to the female parent, the cultivar Pico. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted in St. Malo, France, plants of the new Geranium differ from plants of the cultivar Pico in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Geranium are more compact than plants of the cultivar Pico.
2. Plants of the new Geranium are less vigorous than plants of the cultivar Pico.
3. Plants of the new Geranium flower earlier than plants of the cultivar Pico.